Liontamer   Judges ⚖️

http://www.zophar.net/gym/sonic2.rar - Boss (Robotnik Theme.gym) There was some noted improvement here, so pardon me for focusing in on the negative aspects. Some of the jerkier note movements were effectively smoothed out. Some of the instruments still sounded a bit too synthetic, like that wind instrument at 1:00. The new horn sample at 1:30 was way too loud and muddy. The sound of the sample itself was better though, and much more realistic. At 1:50, you smoothed out the notes a little bit on whatever the lead was there, but the timing was still a bit off. Again at 2:04 the horn was too loud and muddy. Not sure why it sounds so rough now. Moving back into the whatever-dat-is lead at 2:24, the sample sounded too synthetic and thin, creating too thin a texture as well. The quiet vox at 2:50 sounded really robotic, and was particularly exposed in its note-to-note movements. The strings on lead at 3:54-4:05 sounded really fake as well. Most of the problems here were still textural (on account of some thinly used samples) or with humanization (as some of the instruments were fixed up but others were still left sounding robotic). Indeed again, the lead at 4:09 had similar note movement problems. Actually, all of the leads until 4:33 had that problem. Also, the horn layered with your lead at 4:23 that steadily rose in volume ending up being too loud and blaring from 4:30 to 4:35. In particular, everything from 3:54-onward needs to be tightened up substantially. I understand you won't be able to work on this again until you go back to university, Bev, but I still can't pass this I'm afraid. If you end up resubmitting this again, I'd get a ton of outside feedback to make sure things are solid. I realize you were under time constraints, so I don't think you should let a NO dampen your spirits here. NO (resubmit)

Well it could be interesting since I did use to give reviews in the WIP forum a while ago. Does anyone else think this would be a good idea? Very sparingly. Stick with people you know will actually finish what they've started. I'd keep the priority to mixes you feel confident could pass as well.

Considering the disparate natures of the two, the comparison is completely irrelevant and inappropriate. Uh, I realize the interweb can be a poor conduit of sarcasm, but of course that wasn't a real comparison. The two mixes are nothing alike at all. I should have added something facetious like "(birdcussion™ Ari Asulin)"!

Not to diminish this track making it, especially since I enjoyed it myself, but how we took this and NOT Joseph's even hotter "Matoya no Fuuketsu" is beyond me. Man, what a mistake y'all.

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/megaman6.zip - Track 2 ("Blizzardman Stage") This one was pretty chill, and the audience for VGF56 were definitely impressed with this one when it hit the air. Megman VI had a really good soundtrack. Not quite up there with MM2 or MM3, but it was a welcome change of pace from the lackluster themes of MM4 & MM5. Cool opening inspired by the source material, and some piano handled the rearranged melody nicely at :19. Already pretty stylish at the outset, I just knew this was gonna be solid. Some very dense strings joined in harmony with the piano at :34 and the soundfield was nice and dense. Nice acoustic guitar section at 1:10 to change the mood of the piece; it worked well to create some dynamic contrast without even changing the tempo, followed by the chorus at 1:27 on strings. I liked the sax work arrived at 2:03 in a nice original section, before sexin' the ladies down at 2:41 with the Blizzardman melody once again. Later some airy female vox handled the chorus. The instrument variation presented here was a huge plus for the track. DarkeSword pointed out that he felt as if many of the notes were too punchy, though I disagreed with that as an issue. To me, the performance style was impactful, though for others it may strain realism too much. At times, it felt like the track had a bit too much reverb, but overall everything was pulled off with skills. The arrangement was very engaging, and I'm glad Don decided to send it. Vurez has been someone I've been aware of for awhile at VGMix, as his multiple Megaman VI mixes initially caught my attention. He had a close call with his Ys VI remix, but I really hope that's resubbed as well. I hope Don keeps us in mind for future submissions, including his other MM6 material, and his Ninja Gaiden mix "Basilisk Run". Nice work, bro. YES

Yeah, I checked it out and Don mistakenly linked to his Tomahawk Man mix "Silver Setting Sun". I fixed the link in the submission letter.

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/starfox.rsn - "Sector X & Sector Z" (sf-17.spc) Yeah, I remember this one here. I played the PRC version of this one on VGF54. If you didn't link to that MIDI from Doulifee's space though, Lee, I would have spent hours listening to the SPCs to figure out what you tried to mix. We'll see if anyone else agrees, but I found this to be another overly liberal arrangement; not enough recognizable parts of the original were in here, I felt. The sounds were fairly basic, and not very cohesive at times when the groove stuff kicked in. I finally heard the first section of the source tune recognizably rearranged at 1:39. The groove was pretty basic, and I felt that the soundclips were too much of a gimmick. Some were too quiet and even the louder ones were somewhat undecipherable. The huge disparity in volume between different soundclips came off as too amateur unfortunately. I liked the string stuff at 2:22, but it was still too liberal. Nice wind instrument layering at 3:50 for the finish. Most of the material felt "inspired by" rather than "derived from", I'm afraid, so I can only go NO.

http://www.zophar.net/gym/sonic2.rar - "Chemical Plant Zone" This isn't anywhere near acceptable vis-a-vis the standards. The source tune melody was essentially taken verbatim the whole way through, and the synths playing it were basically the same as the original. Beyond that, there was nothing else alongside the source tune but some drums and quiet strings. The whole "Stormy Night at the Plant" motif only applied to the SFX from the first 60 seconds and nowhere else in the track. 6 minutes for this? Nah, there's just no point dragging it out this long. No significant creativity in the actual arrangement whatsoever. Not quite an Override-able submission, IMO, but you definitely need to read the standards more closely, bro: NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/loz3.rsn - "Sanctuary Dungeon" (loz3-15.spc) Played this one back on VGF52 and knew this was gonna need some work from the get-go in order to get it up to snuff. Decent intro, though the SFX being so grainy was kinda weak. Piano & drum intro was somewhat sparse, but a pretty unique way to build things up. The source tune kicked in at :59, but I felt it was too conservative and reliant on reinstrumenting things to change the feel without much of anything else going on. Ha! Go Go Godzilla at 1:39! Still pretty conservative stuff with the arrangement, but I liked the quiet vibe there thanks to the new instrument choices. The synths arriving at 2:11 had some really jerky not-to-note movements and the tambourine needed to be quantized badly. There were some supporting elements there like a harp and some vox that you could barely hear at all, so I'd suggest bringing those up a bit. By 2:56 the synths on lead were really straining. You may want to change/alter the lead sooner in order to not let the track get monotonous during that section. Same problems with a lack of performance realism with the wind instrument introduced at 3:04. Same jerky note-to-note movements. Heard some Super Metroid at 3:31; nice yo! The laughing SFX was a decent touch but the sound quality of the sample being so low prevents it from sitting well in the track. Perhaps use some additional effects on all of the soundclips to disguise the lower quality. The soundfield was pretty sparse from 3:04-3:55, and may need something subtle added into the picture to further fill things out but disrupt the relatively quiet setting. Source melody returned at 4:08 on strings, which comparably sounded much better than the synths and wind instrument pointed out earlier in terms of performance dynamics. The issues were still there, but were much less noticeable. The velocities of the piano at 5:02 sounded nearly the same for your close. The subtle strings in the back should be brought up in volume and then faded down just like the rest of the instruments. Good arrangement ideas, but the execution needs refinement. Not sure when you'll be able to get to this in order to rework it, but keep at it, Bev. I feel like this one needs more texture to the sounds, and refinement in how you're using your samples, but ultimately those have been recurring issues that you've been able to tackle in the past. This one needs a substantial bit of work, but I'm sure you can swing it. NO (refurbish/resubmit)

Vig & I both surmise that the source material is probably in the clear. With the soundtrack being from 1998 back before the licensing boom in VGM started, and the source tune referencing in-game stuff, I'd very likely say there's no issue. I may check further with Kaleb Grace and crew, but otherwise I'll take responsibility for it.

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FFXI_psf2.rar - 211 "Airship" Ya damn right this kind of stuff is discouraged. Don't even put your name on something like this where the differences are so negligible. If anyone outside the panel compared these two tracks, they'd ROFL. As a posted mixer, I realize you have one conservative track on the site, but this here was absolutely too much like the original. NO Override

Kingdom Hearts - 101 "Dearly Beloved" http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger (part 2)" (ct-1-02b.spc) Oy, MIDI-rippish beginning for the first 36 seconds with a terribly harp-like synth. Total sound downgrade going for a minimalist approach. Some string pad entered in at :26 to at least add something. Some breakbeat style stuff entered in at :57 and this track is still barren. Finally some new ideas at 1:26, but it was just a slowed doen version of the Chrono Trigger theme thrown on top. Some phasing synths faded in at 2:00. Just seems to be the addition of a new sound every few seconds or so. Too bad the sounds are so poor, and that foundation of "Dearly Beloved" has been taken verbatim instead of rearranged in its own right. Not really gonna keep track or any further additions. Admirable for a first try, but a very weak track otherwise. Head over to the ReMixing forum and figure out how to score better sounds for free, then rearrange the source material in future efforts. This additive approach as is just doesn't fly. NO

Really phony choir and cruddy wind instrument material opening things up. I'm afraid I don't have the original in front of me, but Gray might come through with recognizing the source tune and the level of arrangement. The composition itself was somewhat engaging. BAD lowering of the note pattern of the support instrumentation at 1:36 and again at 2:04. The choir was really muddy and poorly positioned at this point. I liked the direction the composition went after 2:30 though. The execution was lackluster giving how the inhuman the vox and instrumentation sounded, but I liked the ideas there. Head over to the ReMixing forum and get more knowledge on humanizing your sounds before attempting to submit again. As long as the arrangement ideas were there, feel free to work on this further and try again. NO

http://exotica.fix.no/tunes/archive/C64Music/Hubbard_Rob/Human_Race.sid - Subtune 4/5 You've gotta listen to 3 minutes' worth of the source to hear all of the sections used in this one. Played it back on VGF42 and knew it was solid. I talked to Slaygon, creator of SLAY Radio, about this track and he said the title loosely translates to "Everybody Stop Wanking". Awesome. This one was a fairly conservative but expansive take on the original material (which was pretty sparse). The drumloop derived from Enigma's "Sadness, Pt. 1" (but not created by Enigma) was recreated by Carlo and beefed up compared to Enigma's own. Good opening up to :09 very loosely derived from the opening 8 seconds of the source tune. Some chanting-like vox rhythms, a phasing synth and ethnic percussion joined in soon after that to fill out the track further. The Enigma drumloop, the bassline, and the source tune on light string pads joined in at :47. Good power in the sounds. The source tune melody entered at 1:26 along with some light acoustic guitar in the background that I wish was more prominent. The atmosphere could be cleaner and more seperated for my tastes, and the lead felt like it had too much reverb, but, overall, the soundfield was full and the energy level was good. Pretty straightfoward coverage going up until 3:00, followed by a move to a new section of the source at 3:12. 3:12 tackled another section of the original with a wind instrument solo, with the bassline joining in at 3:31. I liked the shimmering SFX thrown in there at 3:02 as well. The drum sample at 3:50 cut off too abruptly moving back into the source melody though. Nice rearranged ending section at 4:48 wrapping things up with the bassline, string pad, and phasing synth. Pretty nice overall. I love well done Commodore arrangements that add lots of body to the original SIDtune. When a genre adaptation is well done, it can upgrade a sprase but compositionally strong track by giving it more musical "identity". In other words (i.e. me making up terms), the original track sounds plain and genre-neutral while this arrangement was a great Eurobeat track. djp could articulate my point much better than I could. Definitely glad Carlo submitted this one to further represent the Commodore/European scene, and I thank him again for helping me contact N-Joy to submit his Stormlord mix "Seneca's Marble Pack Edit" to OC as well. I'll continue doing what I can to encourage more Commodore scene submissions from the Remix64 community as there are a lot of stellar arrangers there who have yet to be heard as far as OC goes. YES

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/mo2.rsn - "Battle Against a Weird Opponent" (mo2-029.spc) This one played it pretty close to the tempo and composition of the original. It certainly made the source material more energetic and eccentric, but that was on account of the synth and production choices, not any melodic rearrangement. The style was too similar to the original, but most of the ideas were additive, attempting the expansive arrangement route. I liked all of the additions in there though, and as much as I was inititially inclined to flatly go NO. There were several creative support additions, and other parts were absolutely gold, like the wholly original melody from 1:20-1:41 on top of the chorus. Most of the additions felt true to the Earthbound style, though some stuff came across as too random and not working in tandem with the source tune melody, for example 1:02-1:19 and 2:06-2:25. On the plus side none of the additions were repetitive except for the additions on the chorus at 2:26, which was fine. Loads of variation in the additions, but none in the foundation of the track. If this was back in the day, this wouldn't be a problem for me, but I feel like there's gotta be more to it. Does it compare favorably to relatively recent past material where the source tune style and tempo has been kept verbatim yet the composition has been substantially expanded, like Mark Vera's Laser Squad "Mission Recalled" or Makke's Lost Patrol "In the Air Mix"? To me all of the additive elements clicked there, and they don't all click here. That's definitely not because the source tune you chose was "too strange". The track abruptly cut off at 2:51 as well. Anything that could be done to make some of the most prominent additive ideas work more closely (and I suppose I should say logically) with the source would push this over the bar as an additive-approach arrangement. Even "Treehouse of the Ancients" had a great original breakdown that pieced together thematically with the source material; maybe bring in an idea on that level? Damn, really don't wanna do this again. Chris is a hero in the community, no lie. Sorry, man. :'-( NO (borderline/resubmit)

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/smb3.zip - Track 2 ("World 2 Map") Pretty cool opening, though I didn't like the opening synth appearing at :11. Just a subjective thing, so it's not a hit against the track as far as the vote is concerned. The arrangement itself was alright. The strings at :30 were a decent touch but were way too synthetic sounding, the decays in particular. Some of the compositional ideas with the strings, for example :46-:54, were a little too spastic, but that's fairly subjective. Besides, you had the right idea in general and most the ideas there clicked. New section at 1:17 and I'm hurting a bit on these inhuman strings, because they're seemingly meant to be used in a realistic sounding context. The tambourine was a bit too loud compared to the lead here. Pull it back a bit, perhaps. The drum pattern was a little plodding at 1:35. Good key change at 2:10. Heard what felt like an awkward note at 2:32, and the drop in key at 2:36 was abrupt and sloppy. 2:56 sounded like an unpurposeful skip; if it was intentional, it didn't work well. The foundation of the arrangement was too repetitive (yeah, I know how the original sounds), but overall I felt the composition was definitely over the bar. Just need some refinement on the sounds. I know stuff like Final Fight CD "Adrenaline Rush" got passed a while back having the similar issues as this, but the bar's moved higher than that so I need more refinement here. I could definitely see this getting YESs as is. Good job so far. NO (refine/resubmit)

Too bad Joker's link to the original 404'd. Common sense says the source tune is "Mad Monster Mansion (Interior)" but I also hosted the Exterior & Aquatic versions of Mad Monster Mansion on the FTP for anyone else who's interested. A piano playing the source started things off at :07, followed by a basic beat and some (cool) SFX at :26. The strings in the back filled the space a bit, but it was pretty sparse nonetheless. Production was a bit dull. A VERY thin and inhuman-sounding string joined the background at :46. The percussion/beatwork was still pretty bare. Despite other sounds and effects attempting to fill out the background, the atmosphere was still a bit empty, but it tends to work for the style. To me it sounds like it needs some minor addtions but nothing drastic. The changeup at 1:44 with some xylo axction, I was feeling. The piano chords at 2:02 didn't really harmonize with the xylophone initially, but I needed to listen several times in order to get more accustomed to it. At 2:41 the string sounded really fake again, though I liked the extreme delay on it. It's the same sample Sefiros used in Final Fantasy 8 "Everything = Nothing", so I can definitely say I've heard the sample used more realistically. More than 3 minutes into it, and the heavy string section was a decent change of pace, but the track dragged a bit from 3:20-onward. On the whole, the lead material was lacking heading towards the close; fairly repetitive. The whole thing sounded pretty unwieldy and unfocused on the first go, because I didn't listen to the source first. Give it several listens here to get used to things and take in the atmosphere. A kneejerk reaction to this would be a huge error, so don't make that mistake. The strings were a bit too inhuman and the overall track sounded too sparse and relatively repetitive. Sparse is a subjective description, and for the most part it works for the track anyway, but again, I need a little but more going on than reverb. A little more could be done with this compositionally to keep the end from dragging, but the arrangement was a pass to me. You're definitely right on the line to me, Dave. Scary Res Evil-style shit here; I'm liking it so far, but need a tiny bit more. No problems if this passes whatsoever, as my issues may be too subjective and not shared by the group. Best of luck on the rest of the vote. NO (borderline)

http://sonicveg.digibase.ca/creative/midis/gba/sadv/gba_sadv_sac01.mid - Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 http://sonicveg.digibase.ca/creative/midis/gba/sadv/gba_sadv_tk03.mid - Ice Mountain Zone Act 1 We don't want this kind of stuff at all. 1:49-long is too short/underdeveloped, the track is repetitive, and it's just a copy of the original. Read our rules before you send us submissions, please. "You're too close!" [chokes Wyclef] NO

http://www.zophar.net/gbs/zelda.zip - Track 47 I recalled this one from VGF59 and was glad to see it make its way to djp's inbox. The source tune entered in at :25 on a delicate French horn, and yea it was good. I'd like to see Gray in particular assess how well the execution was pulled off. It could use some refinement, but I don't need to tell Nicolas how to make his material, cuz his catalog of stuff has been pretty strong overall. All of the arranged material was well-varied and the atmosphere was very relaxed. 1:46-2:42 dragged on a bit, and could have had a bit more going on in terms of the composition, but maybe y'all will love it. The piece as a whole was a bit too quiet for me, but you know how I am, right? Needs to be drastically overcompressed to even be listenable. Seriously though, nothing against the volume as it fit the style and the genre. Though I heard some light popping there, I liked the flute trill at 2:48. That was a nice little touch there before...Oh ho, what's this? That was a VERY pimp transition into some incredibly catchy string, drum & piano rearrangement at 2:58. Wow. Way to breath a lot more life into the piece for the finish! I felt as if the arrangement could have been more active and intricate at times, but had no big qualms. Good enough for the YES.

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FFXI_psf2.rar - 111 "Rolanberry Fields" Played this one back on VGF60, so I've been looking forward to critiquing it. The opening was pretty conservative with the steel-stringed guitar. Mostly heard additive elements here as opposed to any liberal rearrangement, but this was a nice conservative approach with some personal flair. Some other synth strings came in at :42 but sound very muted and muffly. They're supposed to sound lo-fi but the loud, trebly beatwork was just obscuring everything, so the sound balance needs to be adjusted. The whole track lacks sharpness and clarity, so you better get tips from the ReMixing forum or the VGMix Conservatory on what to do about that. Nothing wrong with the bird SFX, though it ain't birdcussion and it's a bit too loud without serving much of a purpose; sounds like something that should be a lot less prominent. 1:12 reached the chorus and had some decent genre adaptation work. Some trumpet stabs or whatever you would call those were brought in from 1:28-2:10. A bit gratuitous there at points, I think those should have been used more judiciously. The soft pizzicato strings starting at 1:49 didn't always seem to be playing the right notes. By 2:00, the arrangement of the chorus was really dragging. Trim the fat there. The following section at 2:32 with strings had some serious problems once it reached 2:53 as the pizzicato strings, twinkly notes and bassline did NOT harmonize properly up until 3:14. Need a theory guy to help clarify the issue there. Good ideas for rearranging the chorus at 3:36, though the guitar notes generally had the same intensity from note-to-note, which doesn't sound realistic at all. Humanize the performance there. Things got a little too busy at 3:57, bringing in those poorly harmonizing elements on top and around your strings until 4:18. Position the strings more in the forefront and pull the supporting elements back a little there. I really liked the stuttering and fadeout of that synth from 4:17-4:49; perhaps use a similar idea like that earlier on. Reminded me of Fatty Acid's style; maybe y'all should collab sometime. Good ending as well, though fade it out more cleanly, since it doesn't even fade out all the way. You could really trim the fat off some of this, Paul, cuz the arrangement was too long and couldn't support 5:25. Refine or remove some of the needlessly crowded sections (i.e. 2:53-3:14 & 3:57-4:18). Tone the trebly percussion down a bit, and figure out how to get a cleaner atmosphere here and fix the sound balance among your instruments. I kind of joke to myself that Paul sure has the ReMix titling schema down pat, but just needs to the get the rest above the bar. This guy's one to watch though. Once he refines his composition and learns more about production, he has the potential to be a solid contributor. Keep working at it, bro. NO (rework/resubmit)

http://www.dongrays.com/midi/archive/game/d2/d2map09.mid - "Into Sandy's City" Aight, so we have a trance thing going on with some stock sounds. Not particularly groundbreaking, but let's see where it goes. :46 had a decent original rhythm preparing the listener for what I assume is gonna be the intro of the source tune soon. Really not liking the choice for the lead from :46-1:38, as it was in my face 'n shit, but that's generi-trance for ya. 1:13 had some claps enter the background along with some subtle strings. The buildup was quite long for this 4-minute piece but finally the melody arrived at 1:39. Unfortunately, some muddy vox managed to crowd up the soundfield and actually muffle the melody. Those hats gradually getting louder starting at 2:06 were really annoying. Very generic sounds still by 2:35. Nothing very interesting. Sounds like something a beginner Commodore scene arranger could think of, in that this was just a straightforward trance adaptation of the original. Adapted capably, sure, but not very innovative or even interpretive. NO

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 104 "Time's Grasslands - Home World" The opening synth was a bit shrill, but was an acquired taste. Some weak drums entered in at :19 while the stuttering sound supporting the lead synth took over. Very boring transition section from :20-:42. You gotta cut the fat out of this mix and scrap that kind of stuff. At :43 the melody kicked in. The bassline was alright, but the beatwork here was a bit spartan. The beatwork changed at 1:01 into some snares, but they were too simplistic to drive the mix along. There were some good phasing/buzzing sounds in there though to fill up the space a bit more. There was that grating synth on support at 1:22. The instrumentation was still pretty sparse and weak, though I'm glad some effects were present throughout the mix in the attempt the thicken up the atmosphere. Not enough mind you, but certainly a step in the right direction. The chorus arrived at 1:40 and more of these beats and snare shots surrounded the music but didn't gel with it, preventing them from adding anything meaningful to the arrangement composition itself. The really flat transition at 2:21 detrimentally dropped the energy level. Guess it went into a minor key. Change that into something new, please. Nah. Definitely a NO-go. The sounds were thin, and the beatwork here had no texture or power. The arrangement of the actual melody was pretty simplified and conservative. The ending section at 3:28 was a weak way to abruptly end the piece (mostly the fault of that awful synth at 3:40). There weren't many instruments or sounds in play at any given time, leaving the soundfield pretty empty most of the way through. The sound combinations here took some getting used to, but after a few listens the supporting elements in particular sounded a lot more structured and less haphazard, so don't listen to this only once and get thrown off. Truly, it takes a special mix to sound thin but still feel cluttered. Reminds me of the Robo theme mix ambient made a while back that had similar problems. If Majin'll be pissed, he'll just look back on this one way later and wonder why he thought this would genuinely make it as is. You're cool with me of course, Majin, but after getting shit from you about the site recently posting several "shitty" mixes (Shael/Mythril/Fat Man/OverCoat/DCT), I'm surprised you and ambient subbed something that's clearly lacking in a lot of areas and doesn't even compare to the material you yourself criticized. That attitude contrasted with this submission is laughable. All talk if you guys can't bring your A-game. For Majin especially, whom I've heard some excellently made music from and played on my show, I'm kinda surprised considering what he's capable of. Y'all both keep working on your material, though I'd call this a done deal and move onto something else. NO

http://www.zophar.net/nsf/battle~1.zip - Track 20 Some truly ugly, grating synths introing things. They were pretty abrasive, but things finally got underway at :43. Nothing particularly melodic or interesting happening aside from that damn annoying effect that's supposed to be going past some save point or something in the race. Jeez, I'm starting to sound surly as hell now, but this is just getting to me, sorry. Arrangement's basically the same as the source so far. Finally at 1:31 we got something new, but immediately it starts repeating too much instead of developing into anything. [shakes head]. I know the source tune is like that, but geez. Then we sped up at 2:35, and there's still nothing melodic happening. At 3:26 we got some drums and that recurring note pattern. Still nothing major. There weren't enough interpretive ideas here, and the original was way less annoying. Instead of relying on the groove of the original, please interpret the material further next time instead of basically covering it with this downgrade. I give you points for TRYING to interpret the original, but it's not many points. NO

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/tg.rsn - "Title" (tg-1.spc), "Bordeaux" (tg-4.spc) & "Las Vegas" (tg-2.spc) The arrangement was too conservative for me overall, so make it more interpretive and less sickly with medley-itis. Anyway, we're gonna gloss over that and just assess the presentation. Not a bad electric guitar vibe going on here for the first 23 seconds, but the generic, tepid sounds came in soon enough I'm afraid. Oooh, whatever quasi-bass synth that was at :56 really hurt the piece, and when the guitar attempted to do some involved licks, it just sounded very fake on account of it being drowned out. The levels were all over the place at 1:59, but at least the track was louder as a whole. Oy, just some ugly sounds here; the hats were way too loud, there's no solid background instrumentation, and the guitar sounded bad. Decent SFX usage at 2:28 with the car crash though. We aimed to get more intense with "Bordeaux" at 2:37, but the execution was so quiet and weak the whole way through. At least the arrangement was a bit riskier. Bah, again with those crazy hi-hats. Then at 3:10, the drums were way louder & cleaner than the guitar; again the sound balance among your instruments makes no sense. Same with 4:12, what are you doing there? Decent stuff with "Las Vegas" starting at 4:24, but that was partially my love for the theme. The claps in there were so out of place. I liked the guitar there though; it had its genuinely promising moments with that coverage. Considering how bad it was for "Bordeaux", that's saying something. Man, with the guitar being real, you could have fooled me with how poorly this was put together. Head over to the ReMixing & WIP forums and get some serious help dissecting this one. NO

http://exotica.fix.no/tunes/archive/C64Music/Tel_Jeroen/Myth_PSID.sid - Subtune 1/3 http://exotica.fix.no/tunes/archive/C64Music/Tel_Jeroen/Myth_Mix.sid - Suntune 1/1 You have to listen beyond 3 minutes of the PSID to finally get all of the sections used in this arrangement. I dunno why you said you had no idea where to get the original from, cuz you had to have gotten it from somewhere. No way you could have recreated the original like that from memory. You even sampled Subtune 2 of the PSID for the female saying "Welcome to Myth". You think we were born yesterday? Don't feel like getting into the details, but the rearranged parts where the melody was different than the original weren't particularly creative, and much of the piece was the original with lo-fi, generic FL stuff over it. If you're truly going for the default sound vibe, this better be the most impressive arrangement ever. I don't mean to be glib as a means of crapping on the piece, but I felt that the FL default stuff didn't work in tandem with SIDtune material and that the arrangement needed to be more interpretive without relying on the foundation of the verbatim original most of the way. Nothing quite overrideable in my opinion, because some additive arrangement ideas were there beyond the simple FL stuff, and some sections of the original were left out, but I could see why someone else would NO Override. NO